What's happening
This bill requires all general hospitals in New York to establish community advisory boards and make related reports and board member lists publicly available online.
Why it matters
Requires every general hospital to create a community advisory board composed of local representatives. , ensuring that hospital planning and operations include direct input from the communities they serve.
Mandates hospitals to publicly post key documents and board member lists on their websites,. significantly increasing transparency about hospital priorities, spending, and decision-making processes.
Gives community advisory boards an official role in shaping hospital mission statements, service priorities, and reporting,. which may help hospitals better identify and address local health needs, especially for underserved populations.
Prevents conflicts with government employment and allows reimbursement for board participation expenses,. which may encourage a wider range of community members—including public employees—to serve, strengthening community voice without financial barriers.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Hospital Community Boards
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Hospitals Must Have Community Boards
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Richard Gottfried
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
576
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the New York city health and hospitals corporation act, in relation to hospital community advisory boards
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 2803-l of the public health law, as amended by chapter 639 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
§ 2803-l. Community service plans and community advisory boards. 1. The governing body of a [voluntary non-profit] general hospital, in cooperation with the hospital's community advisory board established under this section, must issue an organizational mission statement identifying at a minimum the populations and communities served by the hospital and the hospital's commitment to meeting the health care needs of the community.
2. The governing body, in cooperation with the hospital's community advisory board established under this section must at least every three years:
(i) review and amend as necessary the hospital mission statement;
(ii) solicit the views of the communities served by the hospital on such issues as the hospital's performance and service priorities;
(iii) demonstrate the hospital's operational and financial commitment to meeting community health care needs, to provide charity care services and to improve access to health care services by the underserved; and
(iv) prepare and make available to the public a statement showing on a combined basis a summary of the financial resources of the hospital and related corporations and the allocation of available resources to hospital purposes including the provision of free or reduced charge services.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02212-01-7
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3. The governing body, in cooperation with the hospital's community advisory board, must at least annually prepare and make available to the public an implementation report regarding the hospital's performance in meeting the health care needs of the community, providing charity care services, and improving access to health care services by the underserved.
4. The governing body shall file with the commissioner its mission statement, its annual implementation report, and at least every three years a report detailing amendments to the statement and reflecting changes in the hospital's operational and financial commitment to meeting the health care needs of the community, providing charity care services, and improving access to health care services by the underserved. Each of these documents shall be made available to the public by the hospital on its website and by the department on its website.
5. (i) Every general hospital shall establish a community advisory board to consider and advise the hospital upon matters concerning the development of any plans or programs of the hospital, and may establish rules and regulations with respect to the community advisory board.
(ii) The members of the community advisory board shall be representatives of the community served by the hospital. The hospital shall file with the commissioner, and from time to time update, an up-to-date list of the members of the hospital's community advisory board, which shall be made available to the public by the hospital on its website and shall be made available to the public by the department on its website.
(iii) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, general, special or local, no officer or employee of the state or of any civil division thereof, shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit his office or employment by reason of his acceptance of membership on the community advisory board. No member of the community advisory board shall receive compensation or allowance for services rendered on the community advisory board, except, however, that members of community advisory boards may be reimbursed by the hospital for necessary expenses incurred in relation to service on the community advisory board.
§ 2. Subdivision 11 of section 4 of section 1 of chapter 1016 of the laws of 1969, enacting the New York city health and hospitals corporation act, as amended by chapter 116 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
11. (i) The corporation shall establish a community advisory board for each of its hospitals to consider and advise the corporation and the hospital upon matters concerning the development of any plans or programs of the corporation, and may establish rules and regulations with respect to such boards.
(ii) The members of such advisory boards shall be representatives of the community served by the hospital. The corporation shall file with the commissioner, and from time to time update, an up-to-date list of the members of each hospital's community advisory board, which shall be made available to the public by the hospital on its website and by the department of health on its website.
(iii) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, general, special or local, no officer or employee of the state or of any civil division thereof, shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit his office or employment by reason of his acceptance of membership on such community advisory board. No member of such board shall receive compensation or allowance for services rendered on such board, except, however, that members of community advisory boards may be reimbursed for necessary expenses [up to and including twenty-five dollars] during a
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calendar month by submitting a personal summary voucher. Each community advisory board established under this subdivision shall serve as the community advisory board for the respective hospital under section 2803-1 of the public health law.
§ 3. This act shall take effect two hundred seventy days after it shall have become a law. However, prior to that date, the commissioner of health and each general hospital shall take actions reasonably necessary to implement this act on that date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law and the New York city health and hospitals corporation act, in relation to hospital community advisory boards
Purpose or general idea of bill
To require every general hospital to have a community advisory board and community service plan.
Summary of specific provisions
Sec. 1 amends PHL § 2803-1 to: extend the current requirement that "voluntary non-profit" hospitals have a community service plan to apply to every general hospital, including public hospitals and for-profit hospitals; require hospitals to involve its community advisory board in the preparation of its community service plan; and require every hospital to have a community advisory board (CAB), similar to the current requirement for New York City public hospitals.
Sec. 2 amends the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation Act (Chapter 1016 of the laws of 1969) to require that HHC hospital CAB membership lists be filed with the State Department of Health (as the bill requires for other hospital CABs), and to delete the outdated $25 limit on expense reimbursement for CAB members.
Sec. 3 provides for an effective date 270 days after enactment.
Justification
General hospitals are vitally important institutions for communities and should be responsive to community needs, whether they are non-profit, for profit, or public institutions. Virtually every non-public hospital is heavily dependent on public funding. With public licensure and public funding comes an obligation to serve the public. Public regulations, financial incentives, and, in the case of public hospitals, public ownership can only go so far in making sure hospitals are mindful of and serve community needs. New York State wisely requires voluntary non-profit hospitals to periodically adopt and update a community service plan. It is appropriate for every hospital to follow this model. New York City's public hospitals are required by state law to have community advisory boards. All hospitals and communities would benefit from having a community advisory board.
Prior legislative history
S.42 of 2015-2016 (Hoylman): Died in Health A.376 of 2015-2016 (Gottfried): Advanced to Third Reading Calendar S.4817 of 2013-2014 (Hoylman): Died in Health A.4525 of 2013-2014 (Gottfried): Passed Assembly
Fiscal implications
Minimal. Community advisory board members would not be paid, but may be reimbursed by the hospital for their expenses.
Effective date
270 days after it becomes a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.